Typically, this well-known type of placement is used in the production of a tire blank, during which a strip of a product of rubbery nature is wound around a receiving surface of cylindrical or toroidal form, according to a very precise pitch, so as to form, by superposition of the layers of strips of one and the same quality, a profiled element of rubber of a given quality and positioned accurately according to the place occupied by this profiled element in the tire.
The known assembly means and devices generally comprise four types of means operating in collaboration with one another:                a receiving surface,        a feed means for generating a strip according to a defined geometry,        a means of applying the strip on a receiving surface and,        a means of controlling the displacement of the application means relative to the receiving surface.        
As an example, the devices described in the publication EP 268 544 or even in the publication EP 264 600 disclose all the means discussed hereinabove.
The devices of this type make it possible to do away with the production steps for said profiled elements, which are generally performed from centralized production means. In practice, the strip is produced on demand at the moment of assembly. For a given strip profile, the final profile deposited on the receiving surface depends only on the algorithm used to control the application means and on the section of the strip. Also, the versatility of use of these methods is the reason why they are in widespread use.
The implementation of this type of method relies mainly on the quality of the strip generation means. It is in fact important for the section of the strip to be as close as possible to the desired benchmark, so that the quantity of material deposited accurately corresponds to the expected quantity.
To this end, rubber profiled element generation means have been developed that make it possible to provide a strictly constant flow rate. This type of means is described, by way of example, in the publication EP 0 400 496 A1.
Also, the shape of the profile needs to be chosen wisely to enable the layers of strips to be joined together as perfectly as possible, in order to avoid, as far as possible, the inclusion of air between the layers of strips, whose presence would be prejudicial to the resistance of the tire in use.
Also, it has been proposed to produce strips of roughly lenticular section so as to avoid the edge effects.
Furthermore, for the quality of deposition of the strip to be optimal, and to facilitate the application and the jointing of the strip on the receiving surface, it is important for the application means to be positioned as close as possible to the receiving surface.
To this end, the known devices have means making it possible to bring the assembly consisting of the feed means which are joined to the application means towards the receiving surface. The weight of this assembly of means is relatively high. The result of this is that it is difficult to finely and accurately control the position of the application means relative to the receiving surface, so that the application means can hug all the irregularities of the receiving surface. Also, in a known manner, it is proposed to arrange an application roller downstream of the application means. A device of this type is disclosed, by way of example, in the publication EP 264 600 already mentioned hereinabove. This application roller exerts a controlled pressure at the point where the strip is placed in contact on the receiving surface.
However, it is observed that this roller, which is generally mounted on the application means, represents a source of problems. It appears in effect that the strip adheres to the surface of the roller, or escapes into the free space between the application means and the roller which leads to a deformation or even a breaking of the strip, and to interruptions in the production cycle.